Working women in The Woodlands fare better than almost any mid-size city, according to a new study, and women in Houston fared poorly. However, looking at the contributing data may indicate that the opposite is actually the case.

The study, conducted by online finance site Nerdwallet, ranked cities based on a combined score calculated from women's earnings, income equality and population growth between 2009 and 2012.

Overall, The Woodlands ranked sixth out of 241 cities in the medium-size category. The median earnings for women in The Woodlands is $52,123. Interestingly, The Woodland's income equality isn't stellar, with women earning only 51.87 percent of what men earn. Other cities in the top 20 ranged in income equality from percentages in the high 80s to more than 100 percent.

Kent, Washington, topped the medium-size category, followed by Lehigh Acres, Florida; Richmond, California; Durham, North Carolina; and Syracuse, New York.

Just down Interstate 45 in the large category, Houston came in toward the bottom of its class, ranking 51 out of 60 large cities.

The median income for female Houstonians is only $32,432, but women's income is 81.19 percent of men's income.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Austin ranked second in the large company category, with $40,356 in median income for women and 93.34 percent income equality.

Houston Business Journal published a series of resources for women in the workforce and testimonials from top women executives called "The Professional Women's Guide — How to get ahead in Houston." Read those stories here.